Tricks to treat the eye

At the 21-room `Faux Showcase House,' teams of artists and designers blur the line between architectural reality and illusion.

May 8, 2005|By Sherry Boas, Special to the Sentinel

Is it real or fake? That's a recurring question for anyone touring a southwest Orange County home billed as "Florida's first Faux Showcase House."

A leisurely stroll through the 21 faux-filled rooms in the 7,600-square-foot estate will test one's sense of certainty: Are the mahogany beams in the reading room real wood or faux art? Is the mosaic border in the upstairs bathroom made out of tiles, or are they a great imitation?

Set on 2.5 acres along the Butler chain's Lake Pocket, the 14-year-old home has been reconstructed since developer Mitch Menaker and business partner Patti Giles bought the home last June as an investment.

"Our mission was to make each room an experience," says Menaker, 48, of Windermere.

Menaker worked with an architect, three faux-finishing firms and an interior-design specialist to achieve that mission, and now the home, at 8866 Darlene Drive, is open for tours daily through May 22.

The home's noteworthy interior features include the three-room, 1,700-square-foot master suite on the second story; the main-floor reading room/library; a spacious office with a marble fireplace imported from Italy; an English pub room complete with a working 1920 popcorn machine; the main-floor half-bath with a $5,000 toilet/bidet from Japan; and a spectacular movie theater with a 106-inch screen, vibrating and reclining leather seats and a starlight fiber-optic ceiling and bar.

The property also boasts a lakeside swimming pool with poolside kitchen, bath and entertainment area; a tennis court; an entry fountain; and a four-car carpeted, air conditioned garage.

Here's a look at how the project came about and how a local charity will benefit.

AN IDEA BLOSSOMS

Working with architect Mark Nasrallah, Menaker had the house redesigned to provide expansive views across Lake Pocket from all west-facing rooms. To do so, every window but one was replaced; interior walls were felled and then reconstructed to improve traffic flow and provide roomier living spaces. A double-entry staircase and balcony were added to improve second-story access and to take advantage of the home's impressive waterfront vistas.

Once major construction was completed, Menaker tapped the skills of interior-design specialist Joy Graham of Orlando, who called in Orlando faux artist Teri Siewert to consult on limited faux work.

When Siewert arrived, she was so impressed with the home's appeal that she asked Menaker if he would consider using faux-finishing techniques throughout, making it a show home.

"I had read an article in a trade magazine a few years ago about a faux showcase and thought it was a wonderful way to promote the art of finishing," says Siewert.

Menaker was intrigued with the idea, and the project progressed from there.

One of their first tasks was to select a local charity to support with money collected from the house tour. They chose Canine Companions for Independence, which provides highly trained dogs to assist people with disabilities. The national non-profit organization has training centers in metropolitan Orlando.

"Knowing that a benefit would both help us market the show and provide support for a local charity was incentive for everyone involved,'' Siewert, 47, says.

"Mitch knew someone at Canine Companions and, after touring the facility, we were all agreed it was a worthwhile choice for our charity.''

DIVVYING UP THE JOB

Because the project was so huge, Siewert enlisted help from two other Orlando-based faux-finishing firms, Regina Garay Inc. and Focal Points Inc.

"I was half-elated at the possibilities of it and half-cautious because I knew it was a huge home," recalls Garay, 34, a seven-year faux-finishing veteran.

A typical faux-finishing job might call for one or two rooms to be decorated, but in the case of the Lake Pocket home, dubbed Palazzo Vecchio by Menaker, faux-finishing techniques were to be applied throughout the house.

The three artists decided the best way to accomplish the task would be to divide the workload. Garay and Siewert each worked on eight rooms or areas while Mary Childs of Focal Points Inc. took charge of two rooms as well as creating a large mural in the downstairs hallway.

"Mitch presented me with a picture of what he wanted, and I went to work creating a trompe l'oeil mural," Childs, 37, says.

Trompe l'oeil means to fool the eye. This type of mural differs from the average mural because it requires the artist to use an accurate degree of perspective, light and shadow. The artist creates a painting that has a realistic look.

The three faux-finishing firms with a total of eight artists began work on the decorative finishes Jan. 1, concluding in mid-April. The home, on the market for $5.9 million, features faux techniques like Venetian plaster, embossed textures, over-glazes, stencils and Venetian crackle.

"Faux has been around for centuries, yet every 100 years or so, it has a resurgence," Siewert says. "We are in the center of the current revival, and new technology has given us even more creative possibilities. You really are only limited by your imagination, and the use of water-based technology has made the field safer and easier than ever."